A union of professionals serving the State Center Community College District
2020 endorsements
Protect the future of higher education in our valley.
SCFT Candidate Interviews
Federalist Editor and Instructor of Philosophy, Michael Stannard, interviews SCFT endorsed candidates Nasreen Johnson, Dary Rezvani, and Sally Fowler.
SCCCD Area 2 Candidate, Nasreen Michelle Johnson
NASREEN JOHNSON has a background in Communications and was a long-time employee of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission. She currently works as a Communications Strategist for the ACLU of Northern California. She has always used her talents for the public good, and will continue to do so in her work on the SCCCD board.
Johnson is a first-generation college student herself, and began her higher education at Fresno City College. She recognizes that teaching has become very difficult under the traumatic conditions of the COVID pandemic. Part-time instructors face particularly difficult working conditions, and the current pandemic and economic downturn have increased their vulnerability. They are the first to lose classes when budgets are cut, and they do not have access to the same resources as full-time instructors to help them cope with the stresses of the pandemic.
Johnson will make her personal cell phone number available to her constituents, the same number her children have. Anyone with a question or issue will always be able to speak to her.
She has heard the call for greater transparency loud and clear—she is committed to transparency, especially in district finances. For more information about Nasreen or to help her campaign, visit her website at http://johnsonfortrustee.com.
SCCCD Area 3 Candidate, Dary Rezvani
DARY REZVANI is a business owner in Fresno. He knows faculty issues inside and out and will be a passionate advocate for faculty and students on the SCCCD Board of Trustees. He attended Fresno City College and received a degree in Accounting from Fresno State. One of the issues Mr. Rezvani is especially concerned with is treatment of part-time instructors:
“I look forward to working with the educators and faculty of the SCFT to ensure concerns are being met with solutions. We have seen our education system take on a “gig economy” mindset which takes advantage of our adjunct professors. In order for the SCCCD to provide the best education possible, our educators must have adequate benefits and be paid appropriately so that the focus can remain on the students. I know that together we can create the community-college system that we deserve.”
For more information about Dary or to help his campaign, visit his website at:
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SCCCD Area 6 Candidate, Sally Fowler
SALLY FOWLER worked in education for 38 years as a middle and high school teacher, adult-school principal, and finally as the FUSD administrator in charge of Career Technical Education and Guidance and Counseling. Ms. Fowler, along with her team, trained our valley’s high school counselors and knows that students must receive regular and personalized guidance in order to achieve their educational goals. Ms. Fowler has touched the lives of students throughout greater Fresno. Clovis Community College is in Area 6, and Ms. Fowler has strong community ties there. She has demonstrated familiarity with the broad range of issues facing the District and SCFT.
Fowler worries that the pandemic will have consequences across generations. This is an equity issue. Parents who are students themselves are really struggling now with the greater burdens the pandemic has placed on their triple responsibilities of parenting, supporting their families financially, and studying. Community colleges need to receive greater financial support during this crisis to adequately support student-parents.
Fowler also supports getting to the AB 1725 goal of a 75-25 full-time to part-time ratio in the faculty workforce of the community colleges. Contrary to the intent of the law enacted in 1988, part-time instructors have taught 65% or more of the units in California community colleges for the past two decades. The result has been a teacher corps with less than optimal morale and less than optimal investment in the institutions they serve.
During her tenure as principal of Fresno Adult School in a time of severe budget cuts,
Fowler was able to maintain a teaching staff that was a majority full-time while maintaining the
integrity of the educational programs. When she has questioned SCCCD administrators about
the heavy reliance on part-time instructors, she has not found their explanations very satisfying. At the Adult School, Fowler made sure that students had a voice, as she will continue to do as a board member. When a constituent asks for a meeting, she will always meet. For more information about Sally or to help her campaign, visit her website